Moulton, Baker in row over refugees

BOSTON -- Verbal sparring between Gov. Charlie Baker and freshman U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton continued Tuesday after Baker doubled down on his stance that he would not want to accept any Syrian refugees until the federal government better details how it would screen them for entry.

After Baker said Monday that he is "not interested in accepting refugees from Syria," and that he "would need to know a lot more than I know right now before I would agree to do anything," Moulton, a Salem Democrat, tweeted, "It's a shame that Governor Baker doesn't know the difference between refugees and those from whom they need refuge.

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The issue also heated up in the nation's capital, as House Speaker Paul Ryan called for a "pause" in Syrian refugees coming to the United States, while the nation's top law-enforcement officer defended President Barack Obama's position before a congressional committee.

Asked about Moulton's comments during a press conference Tuesday morning, Baker, a Republican, said he doubts Moulton actually listened to his entire statement on the issue.

"If he did, I can't believe that's what he would say," the governor told reporters. "I think it's unfortunate that a serious guy like that went straight to the partisan talking points with respect of how to respond about that instead of engaging in the serious conversation that I believe we should all be having.

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Moulton, whose 6th District also includes the Greater Lowell communities of Billerica, Bedford, Burlington, Tewksbury and Wilmington, responded quickly, again on Twitter, posting, "My American values and Marine Corps experience are not 'partisan talking points.' @MassGovernor should know better."

When asked if perhaps he had been badgered into his comments Monday and if he would like to clarify his stance, Baker declined.

"I'm not going to walk back anything I said yesterday," Baker said. "I can't help it if somebody chose to use a phrase instead of a sentence in the way they chose to report what I actually said."

Baker said his office reached out to the State Department on Monday to discuss refugee resettlement and said the state's past cooperation in the State Department's refugee resettlement programs is "part of who we are and what we're about."

Nonetheless, Baker said, he has a number of questions for federal officials and thinks it is incumbent on the federal government to detail its refugee vetting process so states can understand what they're agreeing to.

"Syria is a very complicated place and what I'm looking for is some guidance from the feds about how they plan to incorporate that into the decision-making process that they pursue so that the commonwealth has some idea about how this is going to work," he said. "Because in the end, the safety and security of the people of Massachusetts is my highest priority."

Asking for more information before committing the state to accepting refugees, Baker said, is not uncompassionate.

"Right-thinking people in this situation can be perfectly compassionate and have questions. I have questions. I would just like some of them answered," he said. "And I don't think that's unreasonable and I don't think that lacks compassion."

In Washington, Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said: "Our nation has always been welcoming but we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion. This is a moment where it's better to be safe than to be sorry, so we think the prudent, the responsible, thing is to take a pause in this particular aspect of this refugee program in order to verify that terrorists are not trying to infiltrate the refugee population."

Republicans said the chairmen of national security-focused committees were working on legislation dealing with Syrian refugees that the House could vote on as early as Thursday, though it was not clear exactly what the legislation would involve. Thus far the numbers of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. from their war-torn homeland have been extremely limited and they are vetted in a lengthy process. Some Democrats denounced a rush to judgment on Capitol Hill and the presidential campaign trail.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois likened the GOP reaction to the U.S. government turning away Jews fleeing Nazi Germany and placing Japanese in internment camps during World War II.

"Let us as legislators rise above petty politics, rise above sectarian fears ... the underlying layer of xenophobia," Gutierrez said on the House floor. "Let us maintain America's commitment as a beacon of hope."

The U.S. has admitted only about 2,500 Syrians since the civil war erupted in that country in spring 2011, but Obama administration officials want to admit 10,000 more this year. They announced that goal earlier this fall after a photograph of a little Syrian boy washed up on a beach sparked calls for compassion, including from some congressional Republicans.

Thus far the administration has not backed off the goal. Attorney General Loretta Lynch defended the vetting process in an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, saying: "We have the benefit of having that robust screening process which Europe doesn't have."

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